What the Tide Brings

Epilogue - Kaelin - Rising Tides

Kaelin rose from the lapping waves, using her magic to split her tail. The small gray house was such a welcome sight, it made her heart swell and ache with longing. She had missed this place more than she thought. It was no longer simply a house to her.

The hinges on the screen of the back door creaked loudly in the silence of the early morning hours As it slowly opened. A figure bathed in shadows emerged from the house. It stopped for a moment, as if frozen in place, then, all of a sudden it flew off the porch and shot across the sand toward her.

Kaelin smiled just as Liam swept her up in his arms and spun around in a circle. He stumbled and they crashed into the water. She landed on top of him, his arms still around her waist. She pushed her wet hair back out of her face. "I told you I would be back."

He laughed joyously. "I never doubted it."

Kaelin raised a skeptical brow. "Really?"

"Maybe once or twice," he confessed. "Honestly, I was just afraid to hope."

She stood and helped him up. "I thought of you everyday I was gone."

Liam wrapped his arms around her waist again. "There were a lot of them."

Kaelin noticed for the first time that his jaw was covered in a thick layer of stubble. "How long has it been?" she asked, rubbing her fingers across the prickly hair on his cheek.

Liam stayed silent for a long moment. "Almost four years."

Kaelin's heart skipped a beat, taken aback by this information. It didn't feel that long to her. Among her own people time felt irrelevant. It was only here, with him, that she'd first really grasped the concept.

"When I found out that Amaya came back a few months later, I thought for sure you'd be right behind her." Liam rubbed his hands up and down her arms as if to make sure she was really there. "Then, days went by, months. I even tried college for a while, but it didn't stick. I couldn't really focus on anything, and looking forward was just painful, never knowing when you were gonna come back."

Kaelin gently stroked his face. "I did not mean to be gone that long. It took forever to gather up everyone involved with Arlen's plan. I could not leave until I was sure my family was safe from them. That you were safe."

"I understand. I just... I missed you."

"I missed you, too. Everyday." She stretched up to kiss him, slipping her arms around his neck. He pulled her close against him as images flashed between them. The memories of their time apart. The feelings of longing and love filled each moment.

When they broke apart, Liam took her face between his hands and just stared at her. "You haven't changed at all." There was a bit of wariness in his voice. "I hope I'm not a disappointment."

She looked him over, curious to see if there were any other noticeable changes about him. His face had lost a bit of roundness in his cheeks. His jaw seemed more square now. His body was also a bit leaner, a bit more firm where he'd developed stronger muscles. But looking into his deep brown eyes, he was still the same Liam she fell in love with, just a bit more mature. Her lips stretched into a smile. "Not at all."

"I love you, Kaelin." He smiled. "I missed saying that."

"I love you, Liam." She had missed it, as well. She'd sent her thoughts out to him often, even though she knew they would never reach him. She hoped that if the ocean knew, it might somehow get conveyed back to him.

"So, how is my sister?" Kaelin asked. "I haven't heard much from her. Just that she's happy."

"She's great," he said. "She has a house in town, with Molly. They spend most of the year traveling, but they come back every summer. They're pretty much living the way I thought we would."

Kaelin's head dropped low. She felt so bad for leaving, and for staying away so long. She was just glad that he hadn't moved on in all that time.

"Maybe now we can live that life." He took her hand, lacing their fingers together.

"I would very much like that." She smiled. "So, what happened here, while I was gone?"

Liam grabbed a towel off the sand, which he'd brought from the house, and wrapped it around her. "A lot."

"Tell me everything."

The giant light from the lighthouse swept overhead, across the dark sea to bring everyone safely home, which is exactly how Kaelin thought of this tiny insignificant island—it was home.

After so many years of wanting, she finally found what she was looking for. She just never would've imagined that it would be on land, with a human.

**A/N: As I was writing this epilogue, I realized that I could actually make this—Kaelin's homecoming—into an entire story. I don't know why, but this just felt like the tip of the iceberg, and I have an idea of where everyone ended up in those four years already. So, I think I'm going to try to do that in the future, but for now this will stand as the ending, since I'm currently working on other stories. Anyway, if you've made it all the way to this point, I just want to thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it.**